Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.  Finally,  there  was  only  one  family between us and the ticket counter.This  family  made  a  big impression  on  me. There  were   eight  children,  all  probably under  the  age  of  12.  You  could  tell  they didn't  have  a  lot  of  money.  Their  clothes were not expensive, but they were clean.The children were well-behaved, all of them standing  in  line,  two-by-two behind  their parents, holding hands.

One   day   Solomon   decided   to   humble Benaiah  ben  Yehoyada,  his  most  trusted minister.He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it.""If   it   exists   anywhere   on   earth,   your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?""It  has  magic  powers,"  answered  the  king.

There  is  a  story  many  years  ago  of  an elementary  teacher.  Her  name  was  Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of her 5th  gradeclass  on  the  very  first  day  of school, she told the children a lie.

A small boy looked at a star And began to weep-Boy why are you weeping?And the boy said,-You are so far away-I will never be able to touch you.And the star answered,-Boy if I were not already in your heart-You would not be able to see me.--John Magliola--The Life station

A  little  girl  whose  parents  had  died  lived with her grandmother and slept in an upstairs bedroom.One night, there was a fire in the house and the  grandmother  perished  while  trying  to rescue  the  child.  The  fire  spread  quickly, and  the  first  floor  of  the  house  was  soon engulfed in flames.Neighbors  called  the  fire  department,  then stood  helplessly  by, unable  to  enter  the house   because   flames   blocked   all   the entrances.  The  little 

A  long  time  ago, there  was  a  huge  apple tree.  A  little  boy  loved  to  come  and  play around it every day.He  climbed  to  the  tree  top,  ate  the  apples, took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree  and  the  tree  loved  to  play  with  him. Time  went  by  the  little  boy  had  grown  up and  he  no  longer  played  around  the  tree every day.One day, the boy came back to the tree and he  looked  sad.  "Come  and  play  with  me," the tree asked the boy.

Once upon a time, there was a rich king who had four wives. He loved the fourth wife the most  and  adorned  her  with  rich  robes  and treated her to the finest delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the third wife very much and showed her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that   one   day   she   would   leave   him   for another.He also loved the second wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him.

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each  hung  on  the  ends  of  a  pole  which  he carried across his neck.One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.A beautiful girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning,  her  parents  discovered  she  was with child.This made her parents angry. She would not confess  who  the  man  was,  but  after  much harassment at last named Hakuin.In   great  anger  the  parents  went  to  the master. “Is that so?” was all he would say.

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door  that  read  "Puppies  for  Sale".  Signs have a way of attracting children, and soon a little boy appeared at the store and asked, "How   much   are   you   gonna   sell   those puppies   for?"   The   store   owner   replied, "Anywhere from $30 to $50."The  little  boy  reached  into  his  pocket  and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37, can I look at them?" The store owner smiled and whistled.